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StumbleLas Vegas widow sues Toyota over floor mat in crash
Kim Levine explains her lawsuit against the Toyota Corporation on Monday in connection with her husband’s death in December 2009 as her attorney, Gerald Gillock, listens.
Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 | 12:30 p.m.
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A Las Vegas woman is suing the Toyota Motor Corp. and a Henderson Toyota dealership after her husband was killed in a December car crash, alleging the death was the result of a faulty accelerator and floor mat.
Kim Levine and her attorney, Gerald Gillock, filed the lawsuit July 28 and discussed the case Monday at Gillock’s Las Vegas office. The suit accuses the company and Findlay Toyota, 925 Auto Show Drive in Henderson, of intentional misconduct and negligence in connection with the death of Levine’s husband, Jeffrey, on Dec. 17, 2009.
The suit claims Jeffrey, who has two children, was coming home from work at 5:30 a.m. northbound on U.S. 95 when the gas pedal of his 2009 Toyota Tacoma, a company vehicle, became lodged beneath the truck’s floor mat.
The vehicle then accelerated to speeds exceeding 90 mph, slammed into the back of a motor home and veered off the highway. Jeffrey died at the scene. His body’s position suggested he was trying to dislodge the accelerator, according to the lawsuit.
Levine, 48, is seeking unspecified compensation for the emotional trauma experienced by her and the couple’s two sons, and the economic loss resulting from Jeffrey’s death.
“This did not have to happen,” Levine said, explaining her motivation Monday for filing the lawsuit.
She said her two sons, ages 6 and 13, are struggling to cope with the loss of their father, and the strain on her schedule as a single parent has affected her ability to work as a skin care specialist.
Gillock on Monday said Toyota delayed extending a factory recall to the United States in 2009 – focused on gas pedals and floor mats – that already was taking place in Europe.
Levine said Jeffrey had the truck serviced Nov. 16, a month before his death, at Findlay Toyota. The lawsuit alleges the dealership was aware of the possible risk and the recall in Europe, and inspected the floor mat and gas pedal but made no mention of the problem to Jeffrey.
The recall reached the U.S. about a month after Jeffrey’s death and named 2005-2010 Toyota Tacomas. Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologized to Congress in February for the deadly defects, which have been tied to 38 lawsuits against the company.
Selman Breitman, the law firm representing Findlay Toyota, declined to comment on the case on Monday. Vincent Galvin, who will defend the Toyota Corp. in the case, didn’t immediately return calls for comment. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons in Torrance, Calif., told the Associated Press the death was tragic, but says the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.
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I feel sorry for her loss, but geez, anyone ever hear of turning off the ignition?
Why is this a new story? So far it's just an allegation. If the widow wins after all the evidence is presented, then it will be a news story. So far all of the allegations against Toyota have turned out to be driver error.
Is the State of Nevada suing over Obamacare a "news story." ?? Don't report on it unless they win, I guess.
I only drive manual transmissions, so I can move the stick to neutral at any time.
This might have happened fast, floor the accelerator to pass a vehicle at 60 mph, pedal sticks and before you know it the car is doing 90 mph, may not have been time to turn off the ignition, of course do that and you lose your power brakes, power steering and the "locking steering column" could lock-up.
I avoid buying from certain companies that advertise on certain radio stations. Gee, cars have been politicised of late. Limbaugh speaking out against GM and Chrysler, while he drives a 8 mpg Bentley, and defends Toyota while trashing American car companies.
Conservative Americans used to drive American Pickups with shotgun racks? How times have changed.
So they did inspect it...so it says.The company here is at fault...Can't blame the dealer for inspecting the car when in fact here in the USA nothing official came back from the company. Had the dealer known about the recall (which hadn't happened until AFTER his death) and didn't tell him...that's another story.I suppose if I were in the families shoes.. I'd be pointing fingers too (just for the satisfaction,if any).Emotional trauma?...well EVERYONE suffers that upon a death of a loved one.Economic loss... ?well I'll buy that to an extent. I hope the woman moves forward in her life.
This is happening everywhere.
http://www.twincities.com/ci_15658816?nc...
She couldn't put in in nuetral or kill the ignition? WWaaaaaaahhh,I need $$$$$$$$$$!!!1
@bob_cirelli
@United_727
Don't know about this guy's truck since they don't say what year it was, let alone if it was even involved in any of the recalls. But the problem with allot of the Toyotas has been not only do the automatic shifters lock so that you can't move them into neutral while driving, but with Push-Button ignition, there is no physical switch to turn the engine off. You have to press and hold the button for over 3 seconds continuously to perform an emergency shut-down of the engine. At 90mph, that's over 122 Feet Per Second. Give it 3 seconds to shut down the engine, and you've already traveled 366 Feet. Once the engine shuts down and you're finally able to apply the without the torque of the engine over-powering them, it can still take several hundred more feet to stop. Factor in a panicking driver, and you could easily double that overall distance.
@mred
If you don't pull the key out and just leave it in the Accessory position, then no, you won't lock the steering column. And while a car may be harder to steer without power steering, it's not impossible. Plus all cars also have an emergency brake for just such occasions. So no, you're not automatically dead in the water.
lol. Good luck with that. Someones sleeping with a lawyer in exchange for services.
First, I'm sure this has happened to "ALMOST" everyone, if you're car has floor mats.
In my Opinion, Just another ignorant driver,(sorry) AND I do feel sorry for the family.
You're telling me, some driver's never had the problem of the floor mat moving and "BUNCHING UP" under the Accelerator OR Brake pedal, its very common, have enough sense to pull it back with the heal of your shoe BEFORE YOU DRIVE!, OR GET "MAT CLAMPS", SO THEY DON'T MOVE.
Buy the way,
TURNING OFF THE IGNITION, is the worst thing to do, once the vehicle is turned off, you no longer have "POWER STEERING OR POWER BRAKES" (newer cars,min 1980 ?)) best thing to do MAY be putting the vehicle in NEUTRAL, OR BETTER YET, LOW GEAR TO SLOW YOU DOWN.
As stated above, you can slow down, or stop with emergency brake "IF PROPERLY ADJUSTED".
a lot of unanswered questions about these gas pedal problems; im not in a hurry to blame one side or the other. dont understand why putting the trans in neutral would present a problem in a situation like this.
@dipstick
Depending upon the model of Toyota, you can't put the Transmission into Neutral while the car is in motion. As you know, modern cars have a shift-lock that prevents you from moving the gear selector out of PARK. There is a little solenoid that doesn't activate until it senses that you have pressed on the Brake Pedal. So until you do press the brake pedal, a little bolt remains in place that doesn't let you move the selector out of PARK. This prevents children (and inattentive adults) who are left in the car unsupervised from accidentally taking putting the car in gear and letting it roll. Even with the engine off, a car with an automatic transmission will still roll back and forth if not in PARK. It will damage the transmission but the car will be mobile.
Now the thing with Toyota is, they installed an ADDITIONAL shift-lock that just as you have to have your foot on the Brake in order to shift the car out of PARK, you also have to have the vehicle come to a complete stop so that you can shift it out of DRIVE! There was an off-duty California Highway Patrolman who along with his wife and her parents were killed down in San Diego when their Lexus (which is nothing more than a rebadged Toyota and is under the same recall) had this same problem. The Officer was on the phone with 911 and the entire call was recorded up until the crash. The whole way the Officer was fighting with the car trying to shut the push-button ignition off, and he was trying his best to force the Transmission into Neutral in order to stop the car. He wasn't able to, and all four people were killed.
Now if a trained Cop who deals with situations like this can't even get one of these cars to stop to save his family's lives, how in the world can you expect an every-day driver to figure it out?
Certainly there are many unanswered questions. But until they do get answered, for safety's sake I wouldn't got near anything made by Toyota, and certainly would never EVER buy a car that didn't at least have a keyed ignition where I could kill the engine immediately. Doesn't matter who the manufacturer is. Push-Button Ignitions are a serious safety hazard.
@tomhein
POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES ARE NOT DISABLED ONCE THE ENGINE IS TURNED OFF! You certainly have to press the brakes and turn the steering wheel with more force, but they still work. United States Department Of Transportation rules see to this. If they didn't function with the engine off, they would be illegal. It's the same reason that purely Hydraulic Steering is illegal. If pressure was lost, the vehicle wouldn't steer at all, thus causing a crash, thus being illegal. Same reason again that you Brake Lines between the front and the back are divided up separately. If a hose burst on the front, the rear brakes would still be functional, and vice-versa.
The "power" in Power Brakes and Power Steering is an assistance feature for the driver's convenience, not meant to describe any vitally necessary function. They simply allow less force to be exerted by the driver. Which is why if you carefully read the Window Sticker on a new car, you won't find "Power Steering" or "Power Brakes". You see "Power-Assisted Steering" and "Power-Assisted Brakes".
Toyota IMO removed fail-safe features of cars that we never realized were there in the first place, and only now are we really beginning to see the effects of how well they kept us safe. They may not be fully liable because at the time they nor anyone else may not have know what the results would be. But now that they do know, they need to stop building cars this way.
DMVC, LMAO,
Give it a try while driving, on a test road, at any speed, turn off the vehicle, leave it with "acc" on,TO KEEP THE WHEEL UNLOCKED, try to brake, AND turn the wheel. MOST PEOPLE WILL WIND UP SERIOUSLY INJURED! TAKES LOTS OF POWER, ESPECIALLY IN A BIG VEHICLE!
IT'S CALLED HYDRAULICS, IF THERE IS NO POWER SOURCE, YOU HAVE NO HYDRAULICS! IF THE VEHICLE IS NOT RUNNING, YOU HAVE "NO POWER" TO RUN THE EQUIPMENT.
IF NOTHING IS RUNNING, HOW DO YOU POWER HYDRAULICS! WHATS YOUR ANSWER?
AND YES, I AM IN THE "HYDRAULIC REPAIR BUSINESS FOR BOTH AIRCRAFT AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY.
MAN, YOU GOTTA LAUGH AT SOME SCREWBALLS.
Check out the Wall Street Journal article from last week. A recently retired Government employee disclosed that the Dept. of Transportation is withholding data that favors Toyota in regard to the alleged unintended acceleration. It appears the Obama administration is going to try to pin something on Toyota whether the facts support it or not.
It's enough to make one buy an American car. . and keep thousands of jobs here.
People die in car accidents every year...that's why they're called accidents. This however has yet to be proved an accident. It's very possible the car had some design defects that played a role in this mans death. The facts will come out in the trial but I'm wouldn't wish what happened to this lady (and kids) on my worst enemy.
I'm sorry for your loss, that said...
Why is Toyota or the dealer responsible if someone purchases "aftermarket" floormats?
Talk to the owner of the vehicle; the employer of the decessed.
Sounds like a "deep pockets" lawsuit to me...
<best thing to do MAY be putting the vehicle in NEUTRAL, OR BETTER YET, LOW GEAR TO SLOW YOU DOWN>
This is what I heard that you have to do. When all this Toyota stuff came out, they had experts on all the morning news shows saying the same thing on how to slow down/stop your car.
If facts prove that the floormat plus the obvious defect in the Toyota vehicle are proven, this woman may very well win.
This is kind of old news.....
It's been happening everywhere.
Lets be proud Americans, and try to buy as many USA-made products as we can. Some products are not made here anymore. . .but American Autos are. I'm an unemployed American auto worker, and every time I see a Toyota driver, I wonder "What were they thinking?" All Toyota profits go back to Japan.
Put Americans back to work.
by DMCVegas: you also have to have the vehicle come to a complete stop so that you can shift it out of DRIVE!
This is absolutely NOT TRUE. If you don't know what your talking about, please don't comment.
She should get a make over with all that money and get that lawyer a newer cheaper suit.
I feel so sorry for this lady. She lost her husband in such an unfortunate manner. I think she is right in filing a case against Toyota.